My latest revelation
After a year of living in a new place virtually alone, minus immediate family, I have struck upon something that I had always heard but never truly understood.
The past year I have been forced, and I mean forced in a good way, to personalize the statement that God calls me His friend. I had heard that from childhood, but never really "got it". It's funny to me how we naively think that friendship with God can't be like our friendships with others people. For the longest time that's exactly what I thought and how I lived my life. God was God, who sat up in heaven and listened to me when I prayed, but not someone I felt the need to cultivate a friendship with. And why was that? I did just the opposite with my other friends. I would call them on the phone just talk about my day, good or bad. I would send them notes in the mail just to let them know I was thinking about them and how blessed I was by their friendship. I would make special trips to go see them. I did everything in my power to cultivate that friendship and keep it alive across the huge distance of time and miles. But when it came to my relationship with God, it wasn't anything close to a real friendship. And the sad thing is that even through my years of living my life without a true friendship with Jesus Christ, He still called me His friend. He continually pursued me, wanting a deeper relationship with me, wanting to cultivate a genuine an out-of-this-world friendship. And I seemed to turn a deaf ear to His pleas. So as He always does, He moved me 1,000 miles from my family and friends, and placed me in a situation where I would be forced to rely on Him and His friendship. And I am so very glad that He did.
This past year has been an amazing time of relationship with my Jesus, who is now my very best friend. I've never honestly been able to say that He is my best friend. But He truly is. He has been the one over the past year that I have talked to every day about what I was feeling and what was going on in my life. He has been the one that I have grown to appreciate everything about and the one that I feel so blessed to have in my life. He has become not just my God, but my best friend. And isn't He really the ultimate friendship. "Greater love has no man than this, that He lay down His life for His friends" - That was Him! He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother and I've learned that valuable lesson over the past year.
He is the only friend I need, but graciously He also blesses my life with wonderful, earthly friendships that give me the opportunity to mirror His kind of friendship. The wonderful thing is that as I come out of a year of being alone with my God, I am even more blessed and thankful for the new friendships He is allowing me to make. I only hope and pray that I am able to be the kind of friend that He has been to me.......now there's something to shoot for!
The past year I have been forced, and I mean forced in a good way, to personalize the statement that God calls me His friend. I had heard that from childhood, but never really "got it". It's funny to me how we naively think that friendship with God can't be like our friendships with others people. For the longest time that's exactly what I thought and how I lived my life. God was God, who sat up in heaven and listened to me when I prayed, but not someone I felt the need to cultivate a friendship with. And why was that? I did just the opposite with my other friends. I would call them on the phone just talk about my day, good or bad. I would send them notes in the mail just to let them know I was thinking about them and how blessed I was by their friendship. I would make special trips to go see them. I did everything in my power to cultivate that friendship and keep it alive across the huge distance of time and miles. But when it came to my relationship with God, it wasn't anything close to a real friendship. And the sad thing is that even through my years of living my life without a true friendship with Jesus Christ, He still called me His friend. He continually pursued me, wanting a deeper relationship with me, wanting to cultivate a genuine an out-of-this-world friendship. And I seemed to turn a deaf ear to His pleas. So as He always does, He moved me 1,000 miles from my family and friends, and placed me in a situation where I would be forced to rely on Him and His friendship. And I am so very glad that He did.
This past year has been an amazing time of relationship with my Jesus, who is now my very best friend. I've never honestly been able to say that He is my best friend. But He truly is. He has been the one over the past year that I have talked to every day about what I was feeling and what was going on in my life. He has been the one that I have grown to appreciate everything about and the one that I feel so blessed to have in my life. He has become not just my God, but my best friend. And isn't He really the ultimate friendship. "Greater love has no man than this, that He lay down His life for His friends" - That was Him! He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother and I've learned that valuable lesson over the past year.
He is the only friend I need, but graciously He also blesses my life with wonderful, earthly friendships that give me the opportunity to mirror His kind of friendship. The wonderful thing is that as I come out of a year of being alone with my God, I am even more blessed and thankful for the new friendships He is allowing me to make. I only hope and pray that I am able to be the kind of friend that He has been to me.......now there's something to shoot for!
posted by bekadean at 2:44 PM
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